“when Blanche Says She Cannot Stand a Naked Lightbulb, She Means She Can’t Face the Truth”

In A Streetcar Named Desire, a Chinese paper lantern is used to symbolize Blanche’s insecurities. Many could see this paper lantern simply as a prop, but it is actually a reflection of how Blanche really feels on the inside. Like Blanche, the Chinese paper lantern is used to cover something that is not so appealing; Blanche buries her insecurities in lies and cheap fashion so that she may appear more attractive to others, rather than allowing them to see her real personality and mental situation.

In the eyes of Blanche, all it took for the naked light bulb in Stella and Stanley’s apartment to be enticing was to cover it up with a literally paper thin piece of coloured paper, "and lo and behold the place has turned into Egypt". This quote from Stanley helps support the symbolism of the lantern because it perfectly captures the facade that Blanche is constantly trying to keep up, she puts on some nice clothes and fake pearls and suddenly she can keep her sanity and feelings of haughty superiority and hide from the fact that her sanity is hanging by a thread. She is a suffering girl, trying to escape from her risque past who is trying so desperately to appear as a southern belle but Stanley has ripped off the paper lantern both literally and metaphorically and exposed Blanche for who he knew she was all along. To Blanche, telling the truth is only necessary fifty percent of the time; she would prefer to appear as something she is not just to please others and put forward an outward appearance of perfect southern manners and lifestyle and if lying gets her there, then she is willing to do it, which she fully admits herself by saying “I misrepresent things...I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it!”. This shows that Blanche, at the point at which we see her in the play, can either be interpreted as completely manipulative, trying to get the people who are giving her housing and food to believe total lies about her past and present situation, or she can be seen as a totally disillusioned girl, who is scarred and disturbed from the situations of her past (losing Belle Reve and having to witness the death of her entire family group as well as being followed by sexual controversy after she had sex with a young boy in her care at the school in which she is teaching and with her explicit reputation at the “flamingo hotel”). The paper lantern enters the play just as a prop but grows into becoming the most important symbolic element of A Streetcar Named Desire. Literally, a lantern is a case made out of glass, plastic, or paper that is used to protect a light. In this case, Blanche purchases a Chinese paper Lantern which is normally cheap, collapsible, sphere-or cylinder-shaped, and can come in a variety of colors. Its only purpose is to be a decorative piece to some source of light. As to why she bought the lantern: “I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or vulgar action”. The Chinese paper lantern that Blanche chose to purchase symbolizes the idea that Blanche believes she can cover up anything and make it appear more beautiful and tantalizing. Not only has Blanche chosen to transform a bare light bulb into something more eye-catching, she has chosen to live her life the same way; by constantly reinventing herself into that which she wants to be perceived as: a southern belle, a learned teacher, a young and attractive woman and a woman of wealth and prosperity, with wealthy acquaintances.

Unfortunately, if the paper lantern collapses then all that is left is simply a light bulb and this precisely shows what happens to Blanche when her mental state eventually deteriorates and crumbles. She is left vulnerable and empty because she cannot even recognize herself due to her changing herself consistently, if a person changes who they are so frequently, they cannot know who they are truly, especially if they have gone through severe trauma, like Blanche has. Like a light bulb, most people can see right through Blanche’s facade and if shaken or dropped, she could shatter into a million pieces, she is fragile and seems to be living her life as if she could be even more broken at any given time. In order to protect her delicate state, she covers herself with something that will make her appear less frail and more interesting such as pearls, feathers and animal skins, even though they are fake and she knows it, she simply needs to make herself believe that she is sane and has her life under control. Even after Blanche states why she needed the paper lantern, the symbolism is still a mystery to her until Blanche learns that there are rumors, or rather, truths that have been brought to light, circulating about her.

Blanche uses the paper lantern to describe herself in an intriguing plea: “When people are soft—soft people have got to shimmer and glow—they’ve got to put on soft colors, the colors of butterfly wings, and put a— paper lantern over the light. . . . It isn’t enough to be soft. You’ve got to be soft and attractive. And I—I’m fading now! I don’t know how much longer I can turn the trick.”. One of the easily missed parts of this quote is the use of the phrase “turn the trick” which is a not so subtle nod to Blanche’s sexually promiscuous past and her alleged prostitution at the Flamingo hotel. She also fully acknowledges the harshness of the world and how the world does not allow for a person to be totally vulnerable, even though Blanche fully wishes that she could be. Even if Blanche does not realize it, she is comparing herself to being the light bulb in that the naked light bulb is her true self and using a paper lantern as a cover up her flaws and imperfections, so in other words, she is fully aware of her seemingly alternating personality and how she is using it in an attempt to impress other people. Blanche feels that in order for someone to like her, she has to act like someone she is not, which is a mindset that elicits a lot of sympathy from the audience, and it is a reaction that Williams fully intended to put across to deepen the emotional vulnerability and sympathy for Blanche. Like the light bulb, she is soft and glowing but, at the same time, she is extremely vulnerable and fragile, and like a lightbulb, she is dimming